Cornyn optimistic about GOP chances

Republican senators took a shellacking six years ago when they lost six seats and control of the U.S. Senate. Now, Democrats have to defend 23 seats while Republicans only have 10 to defend in the November election.

And U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is fairly optimistic Republicans will win enough seats – a net of four – to regain control. He has to be optimistic because he’s in charge of the Republican senatorial campaign committee.

Cornyn told the Austin Economic Club today that American voters will get a real choice in November.

He remains confident that most voters will choose candidates who push economic growth through lower taxes and fewer regulations.

“The choice is not between no regulations and over-regulation. There has to be a balance and a middle ground that provides environmental protection that we need but yet does not necessarily impede economic growth,” Cornyn said.

Cornyn harshly criticized the Dodd-Frank bill regulating Wall Street for creating more bureaucracy and predicted President Obama’s controversial recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the new consumer protection agency will result in “years of litigation.”

He was particularly critical of the new health care law, which critics routinely refer to as “Obamacare.”

Cornyn predicted that fewer workers will end up with employer-sponsored health insurance once the law takes full effect in 2014. The Medicaid expansion portion of the new law will cost states an extra $118 billion through 2023 – including $27 billion more for Texas, Corny said.

But Medicaid reimbursement rates for physicians are so low that few doctors today will accept Medicaid patients, he said.

Cornyn also complained about the growing federal budget debt, which now stands are more than $15 trillion. It has gone up 39 percent since Obama took office.

Left unsaid: The debt stood at $5.7 trillion when Republican George W. Bush took office and grew about 90 percent during his administration.

During a meeting with reporters later, Cornyn also took a swipe at redistricting efforts in Texas, saying the April 3 primary election, rescheduled once already, is “looking more and more likely like that date will slip until later on.”

Cornyn blamed federal judges for an “overreach” in developing new maps that threw out the work of Texas lawmakers. Others blame the GOP lawmakers for drawing new maps that gave Texas minorities fewer opportunities to elect candidates of their choices than the old maps provided – although minorities accounted for 89 percent of the state’s population growth from 2000-2010.